Wild Card Round: Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins (Pro Player Stadium), the bracket opens here. Kickoff: Sat January 2, 1999 at 12:30pm. Winner advances to the divisional round. Loser starts the offseason early.[1][2]
Wild card weekend is the most chaotic football the calendar produces. Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins at Pro Player Stadium is the kind of game that decides whether a season was a long buildup or a quick exit. These are the games where the second-tier playoff teams have to prove they belong. Most don't. The few who do define the rest of January.
The bracket has narrowed to the teams that survived the regular season. Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins are two of them; the rest of the league is in scouting mode for the offseason. What happens in Pro Player Stadium shifts the rest of the tree: a road favorite winning rearranges seeding expectations; a home upset shows the bracket math underweights heart.
Buffalo Bills versus Miami Dolphins in the Wild Card Round. The teams who reach this round have already proven they survive a long schedule; the stats that matter most now are the ones that compress: scoring differential, red-zone efficiency, turnover margin. At this stage of the year, the simple math is that defenses tighten and the team that protects the ball wins more often than the team that scores the most. Whichever side of Buffalo Bills-Miami Dolphins cleans up the careless plays first usually walks out with the result. Conservative-game expectations should not surprise the reader; both staffs know exactly what worked all season and will lean hard on what travels. The early answer is the kicking game, where any swing of field position compounds.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 11-5 | W1 |
| Tennessee Oilers | 8-8 | L2 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 7-9 | L5 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 6-10 | W1 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 3-13 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| New York Jets | 12-4 | W6 |
| Buffalo Bills | 10-6 | W1 |
| Miami Dolphins | 10-6 | L1 |
| New England Patriots | 9-7 | L1 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 3-13 | L2 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Denver Broncos | 14-2 | W1 |
| Oakland Raiders | 8-8 | L1 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 8-8 | L1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 7-9 | W1 |
| San Diego Chargers | 5-11 | L5 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Falcons | 14-2 | W9 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 12-4 | W1 |
| New Orleans Saints | 6-10 | L3 |
| Carolina Panthers | 4-12 | W2 |
| St. Louis Rams | 4-12 | L2 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | 15-1 | W8 |
| Green Bay Packers | 11-5 | W3 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 8-8 | W1 |
| Detroit Lions | 5-11 | L4 |
| Chicago Bears | 4-12 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas Cowboys | 10-6 | W2 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 9-7 | -- |
| New York Giants | 8-8 | W4 |
| Washington Redskins | 6-10 | L1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 3-13 | L3 |
Buffalo Bills None, Miami Dolphins None
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo Bills | 0 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 07141717 |
| Miami Dolphins | 3 | 3 | 8 | 10 | 36142424 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Dolphins | Olindo Mare 31 yard field goal | 0-3 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Dolphins | Olindo Mare 40 yard field goal | 0-6 |
| Bills | Thurman Thomas 1 yard rush ( Steve Christie kick) | 7-6 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Dolphins | Karim Abdul-Jabbar 3 yard rush ( Stanley Pritchett run) | 7-14 |
| Bills | Eric Moulds 32 yard pass from Doug Flutie ( Steve Christie kick) | 14-14 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Dolphins | Olindo Mare 23 yard field goal | 14-17 |
| Dolphins | Lamar Thomas 12 yard pass from Dan Marino ( Olindo Mare kick) | 14-24 |
| Bills | Steve Christie 33 yard field goal | 17-24 |
Miami Dolphins defeated Buffalo Bills 24-17 at Pro Player Stadium in the Wild Card Round. The final scoring play was Bills: Steve Christie 33 yard field goal. Top line of the day: Doug Flutie: 360 pass yards on 21-of-36, 1 TD, 1 INT. Miami Dolphins advance to the divisional round.[1][2]
Miami Dolphins walked out of Pro Player Stadium as the team that survived a Wild Card Round Buffalo Bills will replay in its head for the entire offseason. The scoreboard says 24-17. A one-score game throughout. The decisive points came on the fewest possible margin, which is how these matchups usually resolve. The final scoring play came from Bills: Steve Christie 33 yard field goal. Whether it was the game-decider or just the period at the end of the sentence depends on what the camera caught earlier. Miami Dolphins advance to the divisional round.
Miami Dolphins 24, Buffalo Bills 17. Round: Wild Card Round. Attendance: 72698. Q1: 1 scoring play. Q2: 2 scoring plays. Q3: 2 scoring plays. Q4: 3 scoring plays. Top performers:
- Doug Flutie: 360 pass yards on 21-of-36, 1 TD, 1 INT
- Karim Abdul-Jabbar: 95 rush yards on 27 carries
- Eric Moulds: 9 catches for 240 yards
Wild Card Round, played at Pro Player Stadium. Final: Buffalo Bills 17, Miami Dolphins 24, with Miami Dolphins taking the result by 7. **First quarter**
- Dolphins: Olindo Mare 31 yard field goal
Second quarter
- Dolphins: Olindo Mare 40 yard field goal
- Bills: Thurman Thomas 1 yard rush ( Steve Christie kick)
Third quarter
- Dolphins: Karim Abdul-Jabbar 3 yard rush ( Stanley Pritchett run)
- Bills: Eric Moulds 32 yard pass from Doug Flutie ( Steve Christie kick)
Fourth quarter
- Dolphins: Olindo Mare 23 yard field goal
- Dolphins: Lamar Thomas 12 yard pass from Dan Marino ( Olindo Mare kick)
- Bills: Steve Christie 33 yard field goal
Top performers
- Doug Flutie: 360 pass yards on 21-of-36, 1 TD, 1 INT
- Karim Abdul-Jabbar: 95 rush yards on 27 carries
- Eric Moulds: 9 catches for 240 yards
| Bills | Dolphins | |
|---|---|---|
| Team totals | ||
| First Downs | 23 | 25 |
| Total Yards | 416 | 345 |
| Turnovers | 5 | 1 |
| Passing | ||
| Comp/Att | 21/36 | 23/34 |
| Pass yards | 360 | 235 |
| Pass TD | 1 | 1 |
| Interceptions | 1 | 1 |
| Sacks taken | 3 | 1 |
| Sack yards lost | 21 | 7 |
| Net pass yards | 339 | 228 |
| Rushing | ||
| Rushes | 18 | 34 |
| Rush yards | 77 | 117 |
| Rush TD | 1 | 1 |
| Discipline | ||
| Fumbles | 4 | 0 |
| Fumbles lost | 4 | 0 |
| Penalties | 9 | 6 |
| Penalty yards | 93 | 75 |
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BUF | |||||
| Doug Flutie | 21/36 | 360 | 1 | 1 | |
| MIA | |||||
| Dan Marino | 23/34 | 235 | 1 | 1 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BUF | ||||
| Thurman Thomas | 7 | 33 | 1 | 12 |
| Doug Flutie | 4 | 29 | 0 | 14 |
| Antowain Smith | 7 | 15 | 0 | 7 |
| MIA | ||||
| Karim Abdul-Jabbar | 27 | 95 | 1 | 18 |
| Bernie Parmalee | 2 | 10 | 0 | 11 |
| Stanley Pritchett | 2 | 7 | 0 | 6 |
| O.J. McDuffie | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| John Avery | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Dan Marino | 1 | -1 | 0 | -1 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BUF | ||||
| Eric Moulds | 9 | 240 | 1 | 65 |
| Andre Reed | 5 | 60 | 0 | 17 |
| Kevin Williams | 2 | 20 | 0 | 15 |
| Antowain Smith | 1 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| Kamil Loud | 1 | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| Sam Gash | 1 | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| Jay Riemersma | 1 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Thurman Thomas | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| MIA | ||||
| Oronde Gadsden | 5 | 85 | 0 | 52 |
| O.J. McDuffie | 6 | 53 | 0 | 18 |
| Lamar Thomas | 4 | 36 | 1 | 11 |
| Ed Perry | 2 | 29 | 0 | 22 |
| Troy Drayton | 3 | 20 | 0 | 10 |
| Tim Ruddy | 1 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| Karim Abdul-Jabbar | 2 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
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